The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1887-06-10
WASHINGTON LETTER.


Washington. The National Drill
has been the great event Of course.
aud the programme was so arrang-
ed that each day of the week had
some important event of its own,
SO that there was variety and in-
terest all the time. To-day
Decoration Day lsa legal hoIl-
day. The Departments are closed
and the Government employees are.
free.
Unusually elaborate memorial
services have been arranged to
take place at Arlington, Soldiers
Home cemetery, the Coneression-
al cemetery and at General
Logan's tomb. The soldiers who
have participated in the National
Drill will JON the Grand Army of
the Republic and the Army Of the
Potomac in professions to these
places, and there will be music
and oratory and prayers anu poe
try and flowers, m .nm
The contests of the Drill are
oer, but the Encampment does
not break up until this evening.
Tho military componies which
went through the ordeal of the
competitive drills, after their
duties were ended, gave them
selves up TO fun, sightseeing and
the enjoyment Of camp life. The
soldiers from Maine and New
Hampshire think it is pretty hot
weather iu Washington and on
some of tho parades a few of them
We're overcome by the heat each
day. But the lads from Texas
and Louisiana think it is very cold
for May, and shivcr and put on
their overcoats. Altogether the
health Of the camp has been good,
considering there are so many
soldiers here from various clina-
ties who have been subjected to
changes of different kinds and to
unusnI exertion and fatigue.
Still the hospital has proved an
indispensaoility Of the camp and
there has been constant demand
for the services OF the Red Gross
Society, which has charge of it.
When the rain and wind
amounting almost to a cyclone
struck the city of tents on three
successive afternoons, making
havoc with camp paraphornalia Of
every kind and bnffeting and
drenching the soldiers, the latter
felt that they were having a taste
of the realities of military life on
a war basis which they had hardly
anticipated. The iain storms
were quite disastrous, too, 10 The
finances of the Dr:il. Besides
unroofing the grand stand and
causing other damages whilerepre-
sented actual outlay. they caused
postponemcnt Of the pyrorama
performance on two evenings,
deprivIng the Drill Committee Of
receipts from that source, aud
they also cut out q portion of
each days program, as for in-
stance the dress patades, at five
O'Clock p. IN. which would have
attracted manv spectators. Gen
eral Greeley visited headquarters
shortly alter the first storm and
in response to some jocuIar re-
proaches about the weather prom-
ised that It should be good for the
rest of the week. -4 "A
The General of the Virginia
Brigade and the members of his
staff expressed themselves as
much pleased with the results Of
the encampments so far as their
men were concerned. They said
it had been camp OF Instruction
to them, many of whom needed
such experience. The strctest
military discipline has been niain-
tanned and the troops have been
required to attend TO every camp
duty with as much fidelity as
though they were actually 10 SER
vice in. the field. y Ono Of the
officers also said that the Encamp-
mept had been of great benefit to
many of the officers. They we're
good drill officers in their own
armories but knew little Of the
duties required Of them in the
fields Some of the captains have
had their men up and in line at
five o clock IN the morning, and
no point has been neglected to
give them alIthe benefitof inatroc-
ton that camp affords. cele
The chief interest Of the Drill
now lies in that which nobody has
yet found out, namely; how the
various companies stand in the
competitive drill. and which will
get the $4,000 prize. The am